Wow this thread has raised a lot of issues! I was one of those Mozzies at Forster, and it was a great opportunity for us to race against a decent fleet of A-classes and Taipans with some top sailors in the fleet. We have been waiting for some time now to see how the Spi rig performs against other cats. The finishing times weren't posted at Forster but I do have copies of some of the timing sheets which will allow me to get some partial results figured out. Once I'm confident I've done them right I'll post them on the VMCA web site.
In answer to Steve's comment about changing the class rules in Australia, I am confident that it will happen, but right now there is no need to push the class into making a move. The Mosquitos certainly declined badly once the Taipan came along back in the 90s but in the last two seasons there has been growing interest in the class. I believe the growth in the use of the spinnaker rig will only accelerate this. For our National and State titles we will continue to sail without spinnakers, while at every other event we can use spinnakers (the VYC has given us a handicap to sail to which helps a lot). The number using spinnakers will inevitably grow (three more sails have been ordered in the last month) and eventually the majority of Mosquito sailors (if not all) will want the rules to change. Over in SA they have already reached that point, which is just great. We will catch up Steve, don't worry.
With regard to stronger winds, I agree with Steve. Because we have a smaller rig this does help to make the boat more manageable. The obvious downside is that in light winds we don't get on the trap as early. Being such a light boat though, means that against Hobies and F18s we can still perform well in the light stuff. Last weekend Gary and myself sailed our club race right after a front had passed through, in a solid 20-22 knot wind and pouring rain (Victoria !). Gary left his spinnaker in the chute and I flew mine on the three downwind legs. I also find that the spinnaker only makes the downwind legs easier to handle in these conditions, but the big point is that I didn't beat Gary. We have found this every time it gets this windy, that you just don't gain enough distance when the boats are moving that fast anyway, and the race is more often won or lost on the upwind legs. Things would be different in a passage race, but round a course in 20 knots the reaching legs are just too short to make good use of the spinnaker.
We are looking forward to taking our Baby F16s to many more open events around Victoria this season and also the Eden regatta in NSW in February. I'm really hoping we will get to see some of the Taipan F16s in action at some of these events.
Tim
